The Bulldog Beat

Menu

Student Life

Remaining Convocations
Student Life

Remaining Convocations

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By Alex Wize At Tennessee Wesleyan University, all full-time students are required to attend five convocations a semester. Convocations at TWU are educational programs created by Student Life to help students develop a new worldview; you can read more about the purpose of convocations on the Tennessee Wesleyan website. There are several types of convocations to provide students a variety. There are a few convocations left in the fall semester. Chapel at Trinity United Methodist happens every Sunday and Thursday at 11 a.m., and Student Life operated convocations are held Tuesdays at 11 a.m. If you have not attended 5 convocations for the semester, you may be interested in what has yet to come. Veterans Day November 8: There is a Veteran’s Day convocation that recognizes veterans for their service. All students are invited to pay respect for the work and the sacrifices of the veterans in our community. This event will be held in the Colloms Campus Center from 11 am to 12 pm. Hunger and Homelessness Week November 15: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week is a great way of giving back to the community and help those less fortunate than ourselves. This is the final convocation of the semester, and it will also be held in the Colloms Campus Center. A Servant of Two Masters November 19-20: A Servant of Two Masters play put on by the TWU acting classes. The staged reading is the culmination of the acting class’ semester project. November 19 at 7:30pm & November 20 at 2pm, both performances in Townsend Auditorium. Chapel There are also six chapels remaining for the semester on the following dates: November 3, November 6, November 10, November 13, November 17, and November 27. These will all be at 11 a.m. in Trinity United Methodist Church. Edited by Bella FricksPhoto by Alex WizeGraphics by Bella Fricks

Student Life

Ghosts at TWU???

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By T’evon Shuler Before TWU It is no question that Tennessee Wesleyan University has been around for some time since it was founded in 1857. That being said, many may question what was here before it was a university. Before Tennessee Wesleyan, Athens was a battleground for the Civil War and one of our buildings was used as a hospital. That building was Old College! Story of Barnabas Old College being a hospital for soldiers in the Civil War in the middle of Athens, TN is mind boggling. Thus the story of Barnabas. Barnabas was a soldier during the time of the Civil War and is now rumored to be stuck inside the Old College building. Many reports have come from Faculty and workers of strange noises that can be heard inside the building when alone. There were not only reports of strange sounds, but also reports of strange things happening inside the building. Legend has it that at night, if you were to look at the windows, you would see a shadow-like figure. Townsend Old College is not the only haunted place on campus as the security officers of Tennessee Wesleyan have heard many things in Townsend. Being in buildings at night alone can be scary by itself, but when you hear running footsteps going around you, it is scarier. If you were to ask, many of the security guards on campus have experienced the unnatural sounds and laughs of women inside Townsend. Sometimes if you are in the Thunder Fitness Center alone at night, you can hear the footsteps above you, but the stage of Townsend is empty. Campus Living There have been other reports of supernatural occurrences on campus that can not be explained, and another is Keith’s 1st floor. Stories have gone around of windows randomly opening when people are asleep. A student in Keith with a private room has experienced this first hand. One night she went to sleep with the window closed because it was windy outside, but she had woken up cold. When she went to see why it was so cold in the room, the window was strangely opened. She then closed it thinking maybe she had done it, but the same thing happened again and again for a countless number of nights. TWU is steeped in Athens history that goes all the way back to the Civil War. With so many stories and lore, there’s really no telling if ghosts roam the campus or if these phenomena were simply the wind. Video and Video Editing by Emilia MercadoAudio by Tyris NelsonEditorial by Marco Martinez

Student Life

TWU 2022 Homecoming Competition

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By Emilia Mercado Homecoming at TWU has been a long-honored tradition, and this year’s homecoming shined a light on the talents of our school’s staff, faculty, and student organizations. Banner Competition This year’s homecoming festivities started off with the Banner Competition, where different student-led clubs and organizations created their own banner that followed the theme “Fall-ow Me to Homecoming.” The winner of this event was the Criminal Justice Club. HoCo Gameshow The HoCo Gameshow is TWU’s version of Jeopardy. The organizations who signed up competed for points and this year’s winner was Black Student Union. TWU Spirit Instagram Challenge Continuing with this year’s Homecoming theme, Fall-ow Me to Homecoming, organizations this year were challenged to make an Instagram post with that theme, and the posts are judged on creativity. This year’s winner was Sigma Kappa. SINGO Night On 10/4, the night was ended with SINGO, which is basically BINGO but with a musical twist. The winner received a $100 gift card. Organizations received participation points for attending this event. Penny Wars This year’s penny wars were just as cut-throat as years prior. Penny wars is where students can give money to their favorite organization for them to donate to their chosen philanthropy at the end of the contest. One penny is equal to one point, but any other coin equals negative points. For example, a nickel equates negative five points. This year’s winner was the Criminal Justice Club with 436 points, who donated all the money raised to the H.O.P.E center of Athens. For reference, Sigma Kappa had negative 11,883 points. Bulldog Olympics The Bulldog Olympics are where the organizations competing in Homecoming can battle it out for points in the Colloms Lawn. Balloon Toss, Egg Toss, Tug-o-War, Relay Races, and Ships and Sailors were played, and in the end, Black Student Union won the night. Choose Blue: Student Organization Fair This Student Organization Fair was for any school club or organization that wanted to be represented for the prospective students touring the TWU campus on 10/6. Many booths were set up and there was a lively turnout and music to dance to as well. Campus Lamp Post Decorating Contest To add to the festivities of fall, the Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs held a separate contest for decorating the lamp posts around campus. Organizations were given “a corn stalk, a pumpkin, a square hay bale, and a scarecrow for starting materials.” The students through the week and guests that came for Homecoming on Saturday were able to vote for the winner. All the organizations came up with extremely creative lamp posts, but the student organization who won the $200 cash prize was Sigma Kappa and the faculty/staff winner was Student Life. Bonfire Night with Dr. Bocco This is a long tradition at TWU where students can lounge around the Nocatula Gardens and listen to the history of TWU while eating smores and snacks. This year Dr. Bocco talked about the legend of Nocatula, a Native American story where two young lovers died, but the seeds their family plant became the two trees intertwined in the Nocatula Gardens. Wear TWU Blue Friday, 10/7, started off with wear TWU blue, a campus-wide request from Student Activities Board. They wanted everyone on campus, not just the organizations participating in the homecoming events, to show their pride and join the fun at TWU. Lip Sync Coming back from a two-year break due to COVID-19, Lip Sync was the most highly anticipated event of Homecoming. The organizations that performed were Black Student Union, Kappa Beta Gamma, and Sigma Kappa. Black Student Union did a mash-up of Halloween songs, Kappa Beta Gamma had a rock-and-roll theme, and Sigma Kappa did a variation of Charlie’s angels. Lip Sync was also where the Homecoming King and Queen were crowned, Jeremiah Sullivan and Emma Blanchard. The following Monday, the winners of Homecoming were announced. In first place with a $350 prize was the Black Student Union. In second place with a $300 prize was Kappa Beta Gamma, and in third place with a $250 prize was Sigma Kappa. Photos by Emilia Mercado, Tommy Botello, Cameron WilliamsVideo by Emilia Mercado and Cameron WilliamsVideo Editing by Emilia MercadoEditorial Assistance by Bella Fricks

Student Life

Outdoor Adventures Near Campus

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By Marco Martinez Here at Tennessee Wesleyan there are many opportunities for you to go out and explore. Whether that be with a group or by oneself an adventure is right around every corner here in Athens. Various trails, ponds, and rivers are at your disposal with large amounts of wildlife to see and interact with.  [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1FaIM2mUPaFE9TjyDx6vL1JNCd6A6aes&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480%5D The Outdoor Club here on campus offers many trips throughout the school year that allow you to do many activities out and about. Last week a kayaking trip took place where many students and faculty were able to participate. Future trips can be found and joined through the Tennessee Wesleyan app, where updates are posted daily on upcoming events. September 11 is the next rafting trip. A fee of $20 will be needed to secure your spot. A trip down some white water rapids can exhilarate your weekend if you are in for a thrill!  For you fisherman and hiking fanatics, many trails, rivers, and ponds run simultaneously around each other if you feel the need to relax at the bank or get some fresh air. Many of the trails and fishing spots I have sought out to find are relatively close to campus. These fishing spots consist of many smallmouth bass, a couple large mouths and many small striper fish. Catfish also subside in these ponds and river beds for you big game fishers.  The Blue Cove Hideaway is another attraction for those who want to swim in some fresh rock water that offers many platform and rock jumps around the cove. It is usually $15 to get in and $30 if you would like to stay the night and campout. Many events are thrown here at this cove that you can participate in. They even have a volunteer clean up crew every couple of weeks to make sure the nice blue water and the land that surrounds it stays clean of litter. More information about weekly scheduling and pricing can be found on their instagram or website.  Edited by T’evon ShulerMap by T’evon ShulerPhotos by Marco Martinez, Alex Wize, Cameron WilliamsOther photos obtained from the Tennessee Wesleyan app

One Last Hurrah: Late Night Breakfast 2022
Student Life

One Last Hurrah: Late Night Breakfast 2022

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

On April 27, the Tennessee Wesleyan Student Activities Board hosted their late night breakfast event. Late Night Breakfast happens in both the fall and spring terms during finals prep week. This even allows for residents and commuters to be able to participate, enjoy a late dinner, and have a chance to win many prizes. The event was scheduled to start at 9 p.m. and prior to the event, the line was out the door. This event truly allowed the students of Tennessee Wesleyan to come and relax and enjoy their night with the chance to win many different prizes. After entry to this event, the students were handed a raffle ticket, which gave them a chance to win prizes at the end of the event. The students then went through a line and proceeded to receive breakfast style food from the lovely Tennessee Wesleyan staff. After the students went through the line and all got situated, the raffling began. The students were able to win all kinds of different prizes. The raffle started out with a bunch of less expensive gift cards, but slowly the prizes got better and better. Some of the items were a Virtual Reality gaming system, a Nintendo Switch, and the final prize was a 43″ smart TV. The 43″ Smart TV was one of the very last raffle tickets of the night and was easily the most valuable prize in this raffle. It just so happened that I was sitting with Kobe Foster, who would win the final prize, the Smart TV. About half way through the raffle saying, “Man, we aren’t going to win anything here tonight.” Kobe said, “You have to have faith that we are getting this TV.” As the raffle continued and we still were not winning anything, Kobe said “The more these other numbers are called, the better chances we have of winning the TV.” Kobe did not have a second thought in his mind that he was winning that TV. When the final numbers were called, Kobe let out a very loud, “Let’s go!” I could not believe it at first until he came back walking with the TV. I asked him how he knew he was going to win. Kobe stated, “I have been at this school for almost 7 years. I deserve this TV.” Overall, this event was something that was a great way to forget about studying for finals and enjoy your time with friends and other students from Tennessee Wesleyan. SAB has done a very great job of hosting this event and making sure it proceeds perfectly. The food that the Tennessee Wesleyan cafeteria staff had prepared was more than delicious. This event exceeded my expectations, and I hope to attend it again in the future.

Student Life

Campus Under COVID

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By Bella Fricks Athens, Tenn.- Tennessee Wesleyan University went through many changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The student body had to adjust following February 2020 and every month brought a new element of change with it.  Upon Covid-19’s arrival to the United States, universities across the country began shutting down with no certainty of when they would reopen. Tennessee Wesleyan University was one of those colleges that closed its doors without a sure answer on when they would reopen. The months following February 2020 were filled with the same uncertainty as there seemed to be no confidence in what would come next.  Below is a timeline of just a few of the significant decisions and events during the Covid-19 pandemic. The TWU campus now looks forward in hopes of a sustained return to the community and academics experienced before the pandemic. February 2020  Spring break 2020 is scheduled, and Tennessee Wesleyan University has two international trips planned. Neither country are on the CDC’s confirmed cases lists, so the school plans to go through with it by collecting names of who plans to go abroad for the break. It is planned that facilities staff will utilize spring break to clean and disinfect everything from classrooms to residence halls to common areas. The cleaning supply used was approved by the CDC and claimed to be able to kill off COVID-19. The campus nurse is also following preventions and encouraging students to stay home if they are sick, wash their hands, and cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing.  March 2020  March 10, 2020, Vice President of Student Life, Dr. Scott Mashburn, announced to students some accommodation that would be made on campus due to new intel. Food services on campus would now more frequently clean surfaces in the dining hall, and employees must wash their hands every 15 minutes. Personal drink containers are also not permitted. A corporation, Aramark, has put steps in place to address cleaning on campus and how it impacts students. Cleaning around campus is still at an all time high.  March 16, 2020, The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced the cancellation of all spring sports. This includes baseball, softball, golf, tennis, lacrosse, and track and field.  March 17, 2020, President, Dr. Harley Knowles informs students that classes will be moving online for the remainder of the semester. Student’s planning to complete the semester from home must check out by March 29. Residence halls are open for this who wish to stay on campus. Convocation and chapel credits have been canceled and waived.  March 24, 2020, Staff members are sent home to work remotely.  April 2020  Class of Spring 2020 Commencement updated to August 7, 2020.  Summer 2020   Orientation- COVID-19 brought a struggle to campus that might not have been ideal for incoming students: in-person orientation was replaced with an online version. Incoming fall 2020 students would not get the chance to meet their new classmates face to face or view campus as a student like they had in years past.   “The orientation team did amazing in very challenging circumstances. We pivoted to bring a virtual experience instead of an overnight experience. The OLs had to practice social distancing and wear masks, which also was challenging. I know the crew worked as hard as they could to make the experience as good as possible for the incoming class.”   Sara Denny, Director of Student Success Fall 2020   In August 2020, students return to campus for in-person courses. Tennessee Wesleyan see their record enrollment of 1,168. 75% of courses remain in person with social distancing guidelines and mask mandates, and a 300% increase of online courses are added. Many courses become “hybrid,” where they will meet half in class and half online. Students and faculty who are high risk are able to meet virtually. In residence halls, masks are required in common areas and no overnight guests are allowed. Dining services will provide individually packaged utensils and will now provide to-go containers for those not comfortable eating in the dining hall. Additionally, tables are social distanced and regularly cleaned in accordance to guidelines. International students have a mandatory 10-day quarantine period upon arriving to the United States, and all study abroad programs are suspended until further notice. Student athletes must complete a COVID-19 health screening and have a temperature under 100.4 before practices to be cleared to participate. Indoor sports, such volleyball, are not allowed to have spectators, however, outside sports may with social distancing present.   Wesleyan Weekly student and staff newsletters also include a COVID-19 campus update from Dr. Knowles. Campus events are minimal with health restrictions in place. Breaks in the semester are omitted for safety of students. Students living 3 hours or less from campus will quarantine from home, in the case of an exposure or positive COVID-19 test, and students more than three hours away will quarantine in the designated dorm hall.  January 2021  Upon arriving back to campus, students are required to be tested for COVID-19. If they receive a negative test, they may return to campus; if they receive a positive test, they must quarantine. January orientation is held ritually.   April 2021  COVID-19 vaccines, such as Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson, are becoming more available. On April 12, 2021, it is announced that receiving your vaccine will give you one hour of community service. Campus life is beginning to start up again in full swing after a year of being absent.  Summer 2021  Summer programs on campus, like Upward Bound and Orientation, are running smoothly. Starting in June, orientation did not require masks from students or parents during orientation dates. As of July 22, Dean Mashburn communicates that vaccinated students will not be required to wear masks in the classroom. Also, if you are in close contact with someone who contracts COVID-19 and you are vaccinated, you will not need to quarantine. Masks are not required outside. Vaccine clinics are hosted by the school.  August 2021  August 9, 2021, it

Student Life

TWU Campus Celebrates First International Day Since COVID-19

Leave a Comment / Student Life /

By Emilia Mercado Last week Tennessee Wesleyan celebrated its first International Day since the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2019. Spanning most of the day, the event was a hit amongst students and a way to bring a long-lost tradition of celebrating international students and TWU’s diversity back to campus.   Dr. Augustin Bocco, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Students and Coordinator of International Student Services was in charge of International Day and due to his enthusiasm for the event as well as the willingness of the campus members, many students attended the event and there were many booths that were hosted by both students and faculty members.   “It had been two years since we had International Day because of COVID, so it was very exciting to finally be able to do it again,” said Dr. Ana Barrios, Assistant Professor of Spanish, “Dr. Bocco is in charge of these activities. Basically, he asked people from the International Club or different faculty members like me to set up tables and offer different things like decorations, food, and other items people have that are typical from their countries.”   Since Tennessee Wesleyan has an abundance of diversity on campus, International Day has been a long-time tradition, “The International Day here is a tradition. It’s an event to show the community that we are part of a global community. No community, no university, or no country leaves on their own island. We are all connected and part of a global community, so that’s what we try to do here in Athens as well,” said Dr. Bocco, “you may think this university is small, yet we have a lot of international students that have come from all over the world to study here. We have between 25 and 30 countries represented on this campus, so it tells you that this campus is rich when it comes to people, when it comes to culture, and when it comes to diversity. This is one of the reasons why we put together a day like International Day.”   The food at International Day was great, but the students running the booths were the real heart of the event. Most of the students running the booths were international students and each person had an interesting tidbit about their home country that they were eager to share to everyone that came to the event. “I love the carnivals in Spain and the fires in Tenerife as well as the building and beach in Barcelona,” said Claudia a TWU student from Spain. “My favorite aspect of Haitian culture is the family aspect,” said Joelle, a Haitian dual-enrollment student at TWU, “We’re all pulled up together and united and that’s really important to me.”  Many of the International Students expressed their joy of being able to study at TWU as well. “It’s always been a dream to play golf here just because of the warmer weather and I can play golf year-round without being stuck in the snow,” said Olivia, a TWU student from Canada. “I like a lot of things at TWU. The activities, the clubs, getting involved in campus and just walking around. It’s just beautiful,” said Micaela, a senior at TWU from Guatemala.    Overall, this year’s International Day was an undeniable success and it brought back a piece of celebration that students had missed out on in the last few years. “It’s a way to honor our students and also to honor our host culture,” said Dr. Bocco. “We have a great diversity on campus, and I think it’s a great thing to recognize and celebrate that,” said Dr. Barrios.   Video by Dasha VarnerEditing by Braxton TurnerEditorial Assistance by Bella FricksPhotos by Emily Baker and Tiffany Pace

Baseball Stays Steady in the NAIA National Poll 
Student Life

Baseball Stays Steady in the NAIA National Poll 

Student Life /

Tennessee Wesleyan University started the season being the only undefeated team in the country (21-0), with a total collecting of 527 points, as they jumped from No.5 in the preseason poll to be ranked No.1 in the last edition of the regular-season poll. For the fifth time since 2000, the regular-season baseball poll has rated our program No. 1. 

Student Life

How To Say Thank You – The Graduating Seniors of the Communication Department’s Party 

Student Life /

The Spring 2021 semester is coming to a close, and with it, a wave of students will be graduating and moving onwards to what one can hope will be bright and beautiful futures. It was in this period of endings that a party was held for the graduating students of the communication department, hosted by Dr. Ronald Gilbert (head of the comm department) on April 15 in the Glen Lowe Dining Room.